40 hurt or dead in blast at cleric's funeral

Police chief of Kabul reportedly among the dead at mosque

Updated 10:00 pm, Tuesday, May 31, 2005

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A bomb exploded today during a funeral for a top cleric inside a mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, wounding or killing more than 40 people, police said.

A witness said at least 27 were killed, including the police chief of Kabul, the capital. An intelligence official in Kabul also said the police chief was dead.

Kandahar's deputy police chief, Gen. Salim Khan, said only that more than 40 were wounded or killed. Khan said the bomb exploded near where people remove their shoes before praying.

The explosion occurred during the funeral for Mullah Abdul Fayaz. The mosque, in the center of the city, was recently named after Fayaz, the top Muslim leader in the province and a supporter of President Hamid Karzai.

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Fayaz was shot dead in Kandahar on Sunday by suspected Taliban gunmen -- a week after he led a call for people not to support the rebels.

Yesterday, U.S.-led warplanes and troops killed up to nine suspected Taliban after repelling a wave of militant attacks, and four Afghan police and seven rebels died during an assault on a police station, military authorities said.

The attacks all happened on Monday in the south of Afghanistan, a region still regarded as a hotbed of activity by the ousted Islamic regime, which has launched an onslaught on U.S. and Afghan targets.

The U.S.-led military said no Afghan or coalition troops were killed or wounded in a series of attacks on Monday by the insurgents at Barmal in Paktika province, a coalition press statement said.

"Initial reports indicate up to nine insurgents were killed May 30 during three near-simultaneous attacks against Afghan and coalition positions along the Afghan-Pakistan border," the statement said.

The positions came under attack by small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire, it said.

"Coalition aircraft responded to the scene and, in conjunction with ground forces, pursued the attackers, killing a suspected six to nine insurgents," the statement said.

More than 18,000 coalition troops, including about 16,000 U.S. forces, are in Afghanistan hunting Taliban rebels.

Also yesterday, U.S.-led coalition soldiers gave NATO troops responsibility for security in much of western Afghanistan, as part of plans for the 8,000-strong NATO force to gradually relieve American soldiers across the country.

The International Security Assistance Force, currently under NATO command, already maintains security in the capital, Kabul, and other parts of the nation.

The transfer of authority will free up troops in the U.S.-led coalition to concentrate on hunting al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts in the south and east of the country.

Italy took over a base in the main western city of Herat from the United States, while a U.S. outpost in Farah province also came under NATO control. Spain and Lithuania are to set up new bases in the adjoining provinces of Badghis and Ghor.